Eli Manning Must Get Back on Track

Eli Manning, who looked so good during the Giants' four-game winning streak, had one of the worst games of his career Sunday.

Manning completed only 41 percent of his passes against the Steelers for a mere 125 yards; as a result, New York was just 2-for-10 on third-down conversions.

Manning never got in a rhythm Sunday, was under pressure throughout and could not spark the fourth-quarter comeback Giants fans have become accustomed to over the years.

With the Giants clinging to a 10-point lead, Manning looked undaunted, but also uninspired. He did little to change his strategy against a defense that was sticking his receivers off the line and collapsing his pocket with ease.

Manning, like the rest of the Giants, needs to forget about this game and come back rested and confident.

He has the "short memory" a star quarterback needs, so expect him to return to form against the Bengals.

Get a Little Help from the Defensive Line

Isaac Redman looked like Adrian Peterson against Big Blue's defense on Sunday, running for 147 yards and a score.

The Giants' run defense, which had improved dramatically over last season, fell back into old habits Sunday, overpursuing, arm-tackling and lacking a sense of urgency to the ball.

If teams are allowed to eat up the clock and control the game like Pittsburgh did Sunday, then Eli Manning and the offense will forever be playing catchup and be forced into passing early and often.

If New York wants to avoid a midseason slump, which has become the norm during the Coughlin era, it needs to get back to basics quickly by improving its reads, allowing the play behind the line to unfold, then chasing the ball with tenacity once their opponents have committed to a play.

This should be fairly easy against the bungling Bengals, who look like a team on their way to the division cellar.

But stopping the run against an AFC weakling won't get you to the Super Bowl, and it won't keep your offense sharp all year.

The Giants need to step it up and maintain that effectiveness for their post-bye schedule, because if you give the Packers, Saints and Eagles any semblance of a running game, they will kill you in the air.

Put Hurricane Sandy Behind Them

The Star-Ledger-US PRESSWIRE

The Giants need to forget about Hurricane Sandy.

That's easier said than done, but they must forget about it, at least come kickoff.

To varying degrees, the entire roster was impacted by Sandy. Some, like Eli Manning, saw their homes flooded, others had homes that sustained wind damage and some have been without electricity for a week, and on and on.

While enduring a hurricane is surely easier when you're a millionaire, the disruption to one's schedule and to one's routine will still affect your performance, as was evidenced by the Giants' performance on Sunday.

Big Blue must move on and be single-minded on the football field every day this week, leading up to Sunday's matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.